The European market for online gambling has increased enormously over the past decade and today 10 % of all gambling takes place over the internet, via mobile phones or interactive platforms. There are almost 15.000 gambling websites in Europe and the annual market volume is in excess of 10 billion euro.

I have never tried online gambling myself, but I play real "physical poker" with four friends once a month. We only play for symbolic amounts and I have never lost more than 15 euro in an evening – but the thing with poker is, that you simply have to play for something, otherwise it's boring and the bluffing part doesn't give you the adrenalin kick that you need. 

The internet makes it possible for people to gamble wherever and whenever they want: in their homes or offices or via their smart phones. For me gambling is first and foremost an excuse to have an entertaining evening with friends, and I think the whole social aspect gets lost with online gambling.

Studies show that the growth of internet gambling sites has increased the number of "gambling consumers" considerably. Expert's fear that an increasing number of people risk ending up as so called "problem gamblers". Problem gambling or compulsive gambling characterises gamblers who can't stop gambling, even when it affects their personal lives and economy negatively.

The increasing opportunities for online gambling do not necessarily result in more "problem gamblers"

However, the increasing opportunities for online gambling do not necessarily result in more "problem gamblers", if we are to believe a recent report by the European Commission. It concludes that online gambling "do not appear to have given rise to problem development or addiction at a higher rate than in the offline environment" and that online gambling even provides "good opportunities for close monitoring of individual gambling behaviour and early detection of problem development".

So maybe we basically just need to convince the traditional gamblers at casinos to make their bets online instead, since this way the gaming authorities in the member states will have an easier job identifying "problem gamblers". But how exactly will gaming authorities be able to spot "problem gamblers" and vulnerable consumers in such a huge and diverse market with thousands of gambling websites?

What the MEPs propose…

The members of the European Parliament adopted earlier this month a resolution, which recommends legalizing online gambling throughout the EU, while avoiding state monopolies.

Why? Do we need more gamblers than we already have? Well, at least not more "problem gamblers" or "illegal gambling operators" if you ask the members of the European Parliament's Committee for Internal Market and Consumer Protection.

According to the MEPs, the main problem is not the gambling itself, but the consequences associated with an unregulated market for online gambling.  Today EU Member States are free to choose their own rules for online gambling, which has created a very fragmented market. While some countries have restricted online access to various games, others have legalised nearly any kind of bookmaking activity.

The rising illegal market for online gambling has been fuelled by the legal uncertainty surrounding the market. MEPs want to create a common European approach to online gambling in order to create a more stable market, fight illegal gambling and protect vulnerable consumers. 

The idea is to encourage member states to introduce licensing models which makes it possible for gambling providers meeting the conditions imposed by the host member state to apply for a licence. This way the market will become more transparent and it will be easier for consumers to distinguish between licensed and black listed operators.    

In order to protect vulnerable consumers The European Commission should develop "common standards" and take "joint action" against online gambling operators which operate without the required national licence. The MEPs also want to make it possible to block transactions between credit card issuers and blacklisted gambling providers. What the MEPs basically hope for is common European standards and a more integrated market.

Resistance to a common framework has mainly come from countries with the most liberal gambling laws, such as the UK and Malta. Other countries with stricter rules have in general argued for greater control across the EU.

It remains to be seen whether legalizing online gambling throughout the EU and creating a more integrated – and regulated – market will result in "less problem gamblers", "fewer illegal gambling operators" and "better protection of vulnerable consumers".

Writing an article on the death of bees I discovered (whaddayaknow – you can actually learn stuff at work), that the death of this puny little insect would have a tremendous impact on Europe's food production and environmental stability.

The logic behind it is pretty fool-proof. Bees are the Barry White of the plant world. Most plants are pollinated by them. No plants means no food. Obvious, really.

But what can the EP do about it?

For starters, the EP called on EU countries to pool their research on disease prevention and research funding should also be increased. Rules on veterinary products for honeybees should be made more flexible and incentives should be provided to pharmaceutical companies to develop new products to treat diseases such as the Varroa mite. Another factor affecting bee health is the presence of toxic agents, such as pesticides, so training should be provided to reduce their use.

Roughly 80% of plant species and food production in Europe depends on pollination by bees and more than 600,000 EU citizens work in the beekeeping sector (directly or indirectly).

Not bad for a buzzing little thing smaller than a bottle cap.

Crazy webcommunciation unit

Then we have the blog here, where we really try to show a much human side of us, we want to give in the fact that we are real people as well. We speak 22 different languages within the Unit, we come from all around Europe, we all have our culture we are so proud of and this comes with totally different (and sometimes even strange for others) habits. This is quite visible from the inside, so my intention with this blog is to grab this and through it on the surface, for others to get a taste as well.

Here is a small compilation of ten things you most probably don’t know about our Unit:

Raffaella, our Italian editor, would never leave her office without her espresso cup.
• Evita and I:  you can feel the smell of galletes from the other end of the corridor. But make sure that whenever you feel like having a snack, Evita has dozens in there.
• Thibault likes music a lot. This I can see every day after 6 pm when he plays his music loud and starts singing. Does he hear the same thing as we do?
• Anete is the plant doctor for this corridor. Ever since we had discovered the power to cure half dead plants her bright perfectly sunny office has, it has been changing into a botanical garden.
• Speaking of light, opposite from this is Hanneke’s office; she likes to keep her office dark, lights off.
• Our head of unit has a special time frame, I was told. For a while, he used to keep an out of order clock on his wall and regularly check it out when late comers were popping by at work in the mornings.
• Josh likes tuna; my guess is that whenever he has his door closed, he is eating tuna and cottage cheese in the office.
• Please try to stay for more than 5 minutes without a jacket in Hanna’s office (Finnish editor) and let me know what you think afterwards.
• Whenever he needs a break, Pavel likes juggling, quite a good show, I admit!

I have no idea how you find all these, but for me, one cannot possibly demand for an extra proof – we are all just humans, I say.

Much more to see here...

This is by far the most ‘complex’ and packed office I have ever seen since so far. First question that pops up is “Could anything be possibly missing from here?” I think not. Slowly, I managed to squeeze in without allowing myself to get distracted by all the children paintings, plants or airplanes flying around and asked Pavel for some insights, which I am sure almost all of my colleagues have been wondering about and looked for.

“I usually spend eight to nine of my most creative hours of the day in my office and thus my wall represents a space onto which I project my inspiration and which reflects it back. Many objects in my office have a specific personal significance vis-à-vis my life. To give you an example: maps are important and allow me to travel both in time (such as a historical map of the Austro-Hungarian Empire of 1914) and in space, especially when people can show me where they are from (wall map of Europe). Moreover you would find in my office some fine oil-paintings of my seven-year old daughter, as well a painting made by my wife, juggling balls, models of airplanes, trains and cars (I love to travel) and a chess board (chess is a lifetime passion of mine).”

When in the office of my Czech colleague, Pavel, my impression has always been that I am entering an ‘unknown’ territory which awaits to be explored. Yes, just like Lewis Caroll’s Alice in wonderland entering the fantasy world with all the giant puppies, Bill lizards or white rabbits, one too can have a much reality based, yet similar feeling in this particular office, when seeing all these diverse objects, all hiding ripples and stories behind it, awaiting to be told out.

Well, instead of fantasising further, I should just listen to my colleague’s explanation: “Over time I was taught to listen to the energy flowing around us and so into my office space I incorporated elements of age-old wisdom, such as the teachings of Feng Shuei. My office is divided into spheres, which each represent different aspects of energy, symbolised my such elements like fire, earth, metal, water and wood. Flowers are very important in that context. My office space is far from perfect though, but nevertheless I believe that ying and yang are in good balance and people who come to my office often comment on a sense of harmony they feel inside”.

It’s just like Lewis Caroll’s Alice in wonderland entering the fantasy world with all the giant puppies, Bill lizards or white rabbits.

Of course, a natural question I had to mention was related to stuff he wouldn’t add in his office. “Although I have a Czech flag hanging in my office, I would definitely not put up a picture of the current Czech president – perhaps mainly because that place is already taken: inside the frame is a stately photograph of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk (1850-1937), founder and first president of Czechoslovakia. He was a professor of philosophy, a formidable democrat and a great believer in the European ideal”.

Well, how about all this? Quite impressive I would dare say. But hey, I have to wrap up for now with this office and continue my journey…

Many people are hoping that question time at 3 pm this afternoon will deliver a lively and memorable debate when Members bowl questions at Commission President José Manuel Barroso. To move things along and prevent waffle they are limited to 1 minute – for the question and response.

EC President Barroso will face MEPs for a Q & A this afternoon

Questions on any subject will come from the political group leaders for the first 30 minutes followed by questions on the economic and financial crisis from any MEP who catches the eye of the Speaker.

Whether it will develop into a UK House of Commons style question time with a full House and plenty of drama remains to be seen. Probably not, as every parliament has its own particular style and culture.

It will also be a first for the Web Communication Unit as we attempt to follow the debate on twitter – come and see how we get on.  Join us on Europarl_EN